Coard: Five Important Things You Didn't Know About Christmas

2. Party On: Christmas initially wasn’t about Jesus’ birth. Instead, it was about “Christ’s Mass,” which comes from the Old English word “Cristesmaesse” that was first printed in a public document in 1038. “Christ” means the “anointed one” and “mass” means the “feast day” or festival, which was a major social event that the gluttonous wealthy people organized. Therefore, Christmas means the food festival (supposedly) in honor of the anointed one. It was (allegedly) based on his work, not his birth. By the way, in the Middle Ages, Christmas celebrations weren’t solemn and religious. They were rowdy and secular, similar to today’s Mardi Gras parties. Moreover, from 1659 to 1681, Christmas celebrations in Boston were so out of control that they were declared illegal.
3. Well, X-cuse Me!: The use of “Xmas” in place of “Christmas” isn’t disrespectful or sacrilegious. In the Latin language (from which English is derived), the Greek word for Christ is “Xpiotoc” and Christians often referred to themselves in writing as “Xian.” That first letter, “X,” is “Chi” in the Greek alphabet. Consequently, “X” and “Chi” are interchangeable as synonyms.
4. No Room For Myths: The “no room in the inn” story is a complete myth. It never happened. First of all, there was no pubic inn or innkeeper. The building was actually a private home. And the reason there was no room is that another family was already occupying the only “upper room” space in that home long before Mary arrived. And that room was the only space in the home where visitors could be comfortably lodged. Most homes in Palestine during that time had a common area on the main or lower floor that included a manger where animals were kept. And the only available space inside the home that Mary went to was a section in or adjacent to the manger.
5. Nobody Likes A Wise Guy: Three wise men named Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar didn’t follow a bright star and travel to see the newborn Jesus. Although the Bible does say that some “magi” (meaning astrologers from the East) did come seeking the “King of the Jews,” it doesn’t say how many there were and doesn’t say what their names were. People assume there were three of them simply because three gifts, namely gold, frankincense, and myrrh, were given to Jesus. And most important, the Bible doesn’t say these maji arrived when Jesus was an infant. It says when he was an approximately one or two-year-old toddler. And it doesn’t say they greeted him in a manger or stable. It says that scene happened in a house.

It’s also interesting to note that the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe was based on a completely false rumor that those plants enhanced a woman’s ability to conceive. And hanging stockings near the fireplace was based on a fantastical story that St. Nicholas one day randomly tossed three coins down a chimney and those coins miraculously wound up inside three little girls’ wet washed socks that had been left to dry in front of the fireplace.
There’s much more, but I’ll end it with this: Merry Christmas, Conscious Kwanzaa, Wonderful Mawlid, Happy Hanukkah, and simply Peace & Prosperity to everyone. And remember to constantly seek truth.